The Summer Switch-Off

by Beth Reekles

Luna, Rory and Jodie are supposed to be having the time of their lives. Instead they're all completely bloody miserable.

Luna thought her first year at uni was perfect - until her relationship broke up, and she realised she's her old school friends might be ghosting her. She's never felt so lonely.

Rory's passion is art (and promoting it on her social media), but she wants to fit in with her sensible family, so she's signed up to study law. It sounds like the most boring thing on earth.

And as for Jodie - she's put her all into getting top marks at uni, but she can't remember the last time she had a night out - or a date. Her life is great on paper, but she's exhausted. Is this the right path for her after all?

In desperate need of an escape, the girls book themselves on a holiday that's meant to be perfect for solo travellers. But the idyllic resort of Casa Dorada is actually a digital detox retreat - which means NO PHONES! And that's not even the biggest disaster waiting for them . . .

Will it be a summer the girls will never forget - or one they'd rather not remember?

A sweet, funny, relatable coming-of-age story from bestselling author Beth Reekles, author of The Kissing Booth - perfect for fans of Beth O'Leary and Emily Henry.

Genres: Romance, Summer, Young Adult, Summer Reads, Contemporary, Fiction, Audiobook

471 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 14, 2024

About the author

Beth Reekles is an author and creator best known for her series The Kissing Booth, which was adapted into a series of hit Netflix movies. She began her writing career by self-publishing The Kissing Booth on story-sharing platform Wattpad at fifteen years old, and earned a three-book deal with Penguin Random House at seventeen. Love, Locked Down is her tenth published book. After obtaining a Physics degree and working a day job in IT, she is now a full-time author and self-confessed nerd who loves to review movies on Instagram @authorbethreekles.

Her published works include:
The Kissing Booth
The Beach House
The Kissing Booth 2: Going the Distance
The Kissing Booth: Road Trip!
The Kissing Booth 3: One Last Time
Rolling Dice
Out of Tune
Cwtch Me If You Can
It Won't Be Christmas Without You
Love, Locked Down/Lockdown on London Lane

Reviews

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beach Cute by Beth Reekles is a new young adult contemporary romance read. The story in Beach Cute is one that is told by changing the point of view between the three main characters letting readers get to know each of them.

Luna, Rory and Jodie have never met but each have their own reasons for needing to get away for a vacation and are hoping the week away will do them some good. Luna had just broken up with her boyfriend, Rory has been struggling with what she wants to do in life and Jodie has just been feeling lost.

Whatever the reasons bringing them there all Luna, Rory and Jodie end up at the same resort to find things are not what they expected. Relaxation doesn’t come easy in a place where all electronics are prohibited and mandatory classes are enforced. Soon comes a friendship formed in the shared ordeal that they find will last a lifetime.

It’s no secret that I love a good beach setting in my books no matter the genre and while I may be older than the target audience for Beach Cute by Beth Reekles I just couldn’t resist. This was a fun story of three teens coming together at a time when they were trying to figure out who they were and bonding during what turned into an eventful vacay. Overall a great quick and fun read just in time for summer.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/

[emmy ۶ৎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪. pre-read ╮ ꒰🌺👒꒱
AURHKAY skibidination i am starting off the end of the month strong with beach cute! i haven’t read the kissing booth wait i forgot how to spell witch or whitch is that how you say it omg, i know how to spell but it slipped my mind how do you spell it help (AURH RIGHT IT’S WHICH) which is this author’s bestseller novel so i have no idea what her writing is like, because this summer i am exploring more into the genre of beach reads, except i am no where near a beach so pretend beach in my room !!!

~

── .✦ started 7/29/24 ୨୧
⤷ fin (blah blah blah) .

[hannah! (lowkey gone) · Rating 3 out of 5]

cute summer story but it gave me major second hand embarrassment

[DoGoryKsiazkami · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lekka wakacyjna lektura, ale bardziej spodoba się osobom, które stawiają pierwsze kroki w dorosłym życiu i z pewnością doda im ta książka otuchy.

Ja od połowy zaczęłam się od niej odbijać, bo nie mogłam się bardziej utożsamić z bohaterkami.

I och Esteban… Ty dziadu🙈

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you to Delacorte Romance Random House Children’s, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was a struggle to get through. I really wanted to DNF it, but kept pushing on in hopes it would get just a little bit better but it didn’t.

This book was marketed as a YA romance, which the “romance” aspect of the story wasn’t until much later on. Not to mention the book is called “Beach Cute” but they don’t even spend anytime at the beach.. and there was nothing cute about this story.

I also couldn’t help but feeling for most of the beginning of the story, that it was being set up as a thriller. There was this ominous tone the way the resort was being written about that made the vibe for a fun beach read feel off.

Also the characters… all three girls were so hard to like. They were downright immature, addicted to technology, not very good friends, and super whiny. The story was also told from multiple POV and hopped around so much it was hard for me to keep each girl and their backstory straight.

Overall, I think this book had potential to be a fun summer read, but this was just a disaster of a read.

[Em ౨ৎ (semi-inactive) · Rating 3 out of 5]

꒰🪩⊹ ࣪ Beach cute ᯓᡣ𐭩
౨ৎ 2.5 ⊹ ࣪ ˖


‧ * ₊ ｡ ꒰🍁꒱ I can’t even remember any quotes from this book it was so boring 💀 all I remember is I didn’t like it at all. It was very 2020 with all these mentions of TikTok and popular audios at the time. This book was very NOT cute who allowed it to be publish?? I enjoyed the kissing both (kinda) but this sucked so much. The POVS were so confusing and they didn’t even follow whose POV we were on, why even do that if you don’t even stick to it? 😭😭 this was more of a girls trip with unnecessary romance thrown into it for no reason at all…. Maybe this wasn’t my cup of tea but I absolutely despise it 😒


————— ୨୧ —————


୨୧‧₊˚ 🎞️ pre-review ✧˖°

I’m no where near a beach but I’m gonna pretend I am for this 🤭

[ava · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 omg that was such a fun book! i loved the holiday vibes, it made me want to be there, swimming in the pool. i liked the idea of the no phones resort, and the things that happened were pretty funny. the only thing that annoyed me tho was that in luna’s POV, she was just thinking the same things over and over again about her ex. other than that, i liked it a lot! also what was with rory being the lobster, like girl

[Lilian♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars! But I just finished it, so my rating might change later! Edit: I'm gonna rate this book a 4.5 stars!!!
I really really enjoyed this book! The 3 characters it followed were very relatable to me.
The summery vibes were chefs kiss! And it made me wish that I way laying on a beach reading just like they were!

[Catharina Gillam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gave me heartburn… but in the end was a sweet friendship story. I generally don’t enjoy stories where everything that can go wrong does, so I had trouble figuring out where this was headed, but it was a fun ride after all.

[shannon✨ · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars

This was quite a boring read. Nothing really happened and the things that did happen were quite repetitive. I also didn’t like the characters and that didn’t improve throughout the story.

[~*Regina*~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. I expected so much more but it wasn’t horrible. Hence my rating. This was supposed to be a rom com! But no, it was a barely comical fiction. The main characters were all too exaggerated and quite frankly kind of stupid. Very basic problems that would have never been that serious take up 90% of the book, and at the end of the day, the only character with some serous development was Rory, who was my least favorite in the beginning.

[Lorna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting more from this book. I was looking for a "cute" beach read but there was nothing special about this story about 3 young ladies who adventure on a vacation on a resort that is supposed to be relaxing, no phones, no social media.
For a summer read it was mediocre

[danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

this was simply….not good! sometimes light and bright is too easy, I felt myself getting bored and skim reading

[kallixto (heartstopper’s version) ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book was literally a friends-trip and i just want to have more trip time ✈️✨

[Rude Kadry · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5
Te wakacje miały być doskonale. Luksusowy kurort, przystojni barmani, basen, plaża i... niezapowiedziany detoks od telefonów! Właśnie taki urlop zaserwowała swoim trzem buntowniczym bohaterkom Beth Reekles w powieści "Wakacyjny switch-off"! To świetna komedia, w której przyjaźń i seria niefortunnych zdarzeń odgrywają główną rolę. Idealna powieść na urlop, plażę, wakacje - gwarantuję!

Choć Cosa Dorada wydaje się bajkowym wakacyjnym kurortem, to bohaterki praktycznie od razu przekonują się, że ten luksus to zwykła iluzja i prowizorka. Co gorsza, w obiekcie jest zakaz używania elektroniki, więc telefony, tablety, czytniki e-booków lądują w zamkniętym pomieszczeniu, a Luna, Rory i Jodie zaczynają wakacje z piekła rodem! Od samego początku wszystko idzie na tak, a perypetie trzech skrajnie różnych dziewczyn sprawiały, że śmiałam się w głos! Powinnam im współczuć, ale nie potrafiłam - to było fantastycznie napisane. Przykro mi, moje drogie.
Luna musi pogodzić się z rozstaniem z wieloletnim partnerem. Rory pragnie iść własną artystyczną drogą, a nie na studia prawnicze. A Jodie stoi przed dylematem dotyczącym swojej przeszłości. Choć każda z nich mierzy z czymś innym, to wzajemne wsparcie jest na wagę złota. Mają też wspólnego nemezis, Estebana. Czy właśnie tak rodzą się prawdziwe przyjaźnie? Jestem o tym przekonana!

Fabuła powieści rozgrywa się w wakacyjnym kurorcie. Razem z bohaterkami spędziłam ten pełen wrażeń, wpadek i nieporozumień tydzień, a także byłam naocznym świadkiem rozkwitającej przyjaźni i tego, jak dziewczyny mierzą się ze swoimi demonami i przewartościowują swoje życie. Choć spędziły w swoim towarzystwie zaledwie 7 dni, to ich przemiana jest spektakularna, a jednocześnie okraszona dawką nieprzeciętnego humoru. "Wakacyjny switch-off" jest też przestrogą przed tym, aby pogoń za lajkami i obserwatorami w sieci nie sprawiła, że tracimy swój cel z oczu. Chwilowe uderzenia dopaminy nie są tego warte, a ten uzależniający świat social mediów powinniśmy oddzielić grubą kreską od swojego prawdziwego życia.

"Wakacyjny switch-off" to humorystyczny przekrój młodego pokolenia. Szczery i prawdziwy obraz młodych kobiet, które stoją na rozstaju dróg, nie wiedząc którą z nich podążyć. To także wakacje w krzywym zwierciadle. Jaki z tego wniosek? A no taki, że jest to świetna powieść na wakacyjne wieczory, do pośmiania, do przemyślenia, do relaksu. Bawiłam się przy niej świetnie, ale jednocześnie wiem, że takiego urlopu z pewnością bym nie chciała. Dla fanów komedii i lekko zwariowanych bohaterek to doskonała lektura. Zachęcam do przeczytania.

[Rebecca Love · Rating 4 out of 5]

The summer switch-off

This book was so much fun, just what I needed right now. There's friendship, romance, and some seriously hilarious hijinks. It can have 4.5 stars (rounded to 4) because why not the girls deserve it.

Allow me to set the tone with a quote, " If you don't kiss him, I will. Nobody can resist the raw sensuality that is Larry the lobster. " This book is told from 3 POVs, and i loved all of them.
Luna, who just split with her boyfriend and feels like she maybe doesn't have as many friends as she thought
Rory, who's trying to find a way out of doing a law degree, so she can pursue art with the help of social media
Jodie, who is debating, dropping out of uni but feels no sense of direction

The girls meet on a no technology retreat (I'm not convinced the hotel doesn't do this because the place is a mess) and form a bond through wine, a mission impossible phone stealing attempt and a flood that forces them to move into a "luxury villa". Oh, and one exceptionally smooth barman.

All in all, I really enjoyed the journey each of the characters went on, and I laughed a lot. I did Dock a star because luna did grate on me on occasion, in that obsessing over her break up kind of way (I am totally a Luna by the way I can relate to both that and realising all your friends were actually his) and there's a 3rd act conflict I could have done without. Sometimes, it's okay to just let the good times roll. I'd definitely read a sequel about their further antcis.

I received an advance review copy of this book, and this review represents my honest opinion. Thank you to netgalley, Beth Reekles, and the publisher for the opportunity to read the book.

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

This book was one of my favourites I’ve read this year! I LOVED all 3 of the girls! I really enjoyed that they were very different but ended up being the best of friends. It was nice to read about friendships & navigating life after school.

The Friends and Harry Potter references only made this book better in my opinion 🫶🏼🫶🏼

This was a perfect cosy day read as I read the whole thing in 24 hours 🫢 I loved how this isn’t a typical romance book & now I just want to read more about the girls and their lives after they got home from their holiday. I just loved it, would definitely recommend!! The perfect summer read. 🌞⛱️🥥🌴

[u das · Rating 1 out of 5]

this is like challengers if it was not about tennis and about a group of three british girls that meet on a week long trip in spain and one of them just broke up with her long term boyfriend and is actually insane and genuinely needs to be put down and one of them wants to be tiktok famous and doesn’t want to go to law school and one of them wanted to work on grad school applications on her phone but met a bartender and decided to pursue long distance after dating for 2 days. this is probably the worst book i’ve ever read

[Mel 🐞 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly this was just okay. The constant back and forth between Luna and Liam got old, Esteban was horrible, and the other girls were just there I guess. I thought it was a romcom, but it’s more platonic love than romantic. (Besides Jodie and Gabe) But I didn’t hate it. It was an easy brain break and breezy read.

[booksbybookaholic · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5

Lato trwa już w pełnym rozkwicie, więc uznałam, że nie będzie bardziej idealnej pory, by sięgnąć po niezobowiązującą i przyjemną młodzieżówkę, która pozwoli mi poczuć klimat wymarzonych wakacji. Autorką książki „Wakacyjny switch off” jest Beth Reekles, która ma na swoim koncie także pozycje z serii „The Kissing Booth”. I o ile tamtych książek czytać nie planuję (powiedzmy, że filmy już wystarczająco ukazały mi ich obraz), to uznałam, że ta powieść będzie idealnie spełniała moje oczekiwania. Czy tak się stało?

Powieść przenosi nas do hiszpańskiego kurortu wprost z pocztówek, w którym przecinają się drogi trzech samotnych dziewczyn. Luna, Rory i Jodie mają za sobą bagaże doświadczeń i problemów, z którymi będą musiały zmierzyć się po powrocie do domu, ale do tego czasu chcą dobrze spędzić czas i zapomnieć o troskach. Ich entuzjazm lekko opada, kiedy na miejscu okazuje się, że wakacje mają być pozbawione elektroniki, a właściciel ośrodka dość mocno daje im w kość. Szybko jedną nawiązują między sobą nić porozumienia i przeżywają kolejne przygody, szalone wpadki i romantyczne uniesienia.

To jest książka, której klimat idealnie oddaje blurb z przodu okładki- "Książka idealna na plażę". Bo właśnie taki klimat ma- lekki, niezobowiązujący, a jednocześnie na tyle przyciągający, że można przy niej spędzić kilka angażujących godzin na dworze, ryzykując przy okazji słoneczne oparzenie.
Być może hiszpański resort miał swoje za uszami, ale jednocześnie przez opisy oferowanych aktywności, wypoczynku nad basenem i klimatu beztroskich wakacji, zapragnęłam wybrać się w takie miejsce.

Bardziej jednak od samej fabuły liczą się tu bohaterki. To na ich rozterkach i problemach skupia się lwia część fabuły. Mamy więc Rory, która wbrew aspiracjom rodziców nie chce wybierać studiów prawniczych, a rozkręcić internetowy biznes sprzedaży swoich prac plastycznych. Mamy Jodie, która czuje wieczną presję i rywalizację ze strony rówieśników i Lunę... Specjalnie zostawiłam ją na koniec, ponieważ jest to bohaterka, co do której muszę wylać swoje frustracje. Dawno nie widziałam tak irytująco wykreowanej postaci. Trzeba wam bowiem wiedzieć, że Luna zerwała ze swoim chłopakiem, przez co okazało się, że większość ich wspólnych znajomych wzięła jego stronę. I okej, wydarzenie smutne, uświadomienie sobie, że nie miało się prawdziwych i oddanych przyjaciół może boleć, ale nie dałam rady sympatyzować z postacią, która wracała do tych wydarzeń, co 5 zdań. W najbardziej przypadkowych sytuacjach Luna nagle uznawała za stosowne przypomnieć nam, że zerwała z Liamem i za nim tęskni. I ja naprawdę starałam się to zrozumieć, ale gdy czytałam dokładnie te same przemyślenia niezakończone żadną puentą, wracające w każdym rozdziale pisanym z jej perspektywy to byłam już na granicy furii. Tak irytującej, skupionej na sobie i jęczącej bohaterki dawno w książce nie spotkałam. Nie mogę jednak powiedzieć, że całkowicie odebrała mi ona radość z lektury.

"Wakacyjny switch off" to świetna młodzieżówka, która zapewni wam dużo komfortu. Jest lekko, zabawnie, ale nie zabraknie też poważniejszych tematów. Relacja między dziewczynami rozwija się w angażujący sposób i byłam w stanie w nią uwierzyć. Dodatkowo stylowi autorki nie brakuje lekkości, która sprawia, że bohaterki rzeczywiście zachowują się jak pełnoprawne młode osoby. W skrócie wrócę jeszcze do początku recenzji i potwierdzę- to książka idealna do czytania na plaży!

Za egzemplarz dziękuję wydawnictwu Storylight.

[January · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beach Cute by Beth Reekles
+372-page Kindle Ebook

Genre: Contemporary Romance, New Adult

Featuring: Author's Bibliography, Brochure, Vacation/Holiday Trope, Multiple POVs, UK, England, Text Graphics, Instagram, Strangers on a Plane, Majorca, Spain; University Students, TikTok, Notes, Twitter, About My Age, First Solo Vacation, WhatsApp, Gadget Free - Digital Detox, Spanish, High School Drama, All-Inclusive Resort, Hotel Drama, Sex, Drinking, Growing Pains, Social Media, Friendships

Rating as a movie: PG-15/R for adult content

Songs for the soundtrack: "Sound Of The Underground" by Girls Aloud, "Mission Impossible" by Lalo Schifrin, "Pokémon Theme" by Jason Paige, "Chrissy, Wake Up" by The Gregory Brothers, "Doctor Who Theme" by Ron Grainer, "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)" by Lil Nas X, "Dancing Queen" by Donna and the Dynamos, "Dance The Night" by Dua Lipa, "Stronger" by Kelly Clarkson, "Bad Habits [Meduza Remix]" by Ed Sheeran, "Voulez-Vous" by ABBA

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️🇬🇧🇪🇸🏝🍸

My thoughts: 🔖Page 102 of 372 [Chapter] 12 Jodie - This story features 3 twenty-year-old Brits and is equally cute and corny with repetitive passages of internal dialogue between the 3. They are all facing a generic crisis and have been sent on holiday to a Spanish island to recuperate. Luna broke up with her boyfriend just cause and isn't answering his messages but is also annoyed that he is at home moping over her and their mutual friends aren't begging her to hang out. Rory is upset she got an unwanted full ride to law school, and Jodie is a phone addict too attached to her mum and gran, I think. Anyway, I fell asleep reading this book, it's like Clueless on vacation.

I may be too old for this one, and I happily read middle grade. It was certainly New Adult in the sense that it was teen drama but with adults. I don't get the title, overall I didn't like the characters or events, but the story was okay, very melodramatic, which turned me off.

Recommend to others: Maybe, not likely. Unless they ask for a fun teenagey holiday read, I think many will love it.

[miah ♡✧❀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

ahhh this was so cutesies

[Patricia | booksbypatries · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5⭐️

[Ainslie-Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wait I kinda miss them already 😢

These girls were so fun to read!! This book was character-driven and because of that the plot stilled at moments but your connection to the trio keeps you going.

This book focuses on creating friendships and it was such a nice change of pace. So many books are about romantic love but I felt the same amount of emotion and connection to reading Luna, Rory, and Jodie’s platonic love 🩷🎀

[Lily Clark · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you’re looking for a casual read to throw in your tote bag, then this one may be for you.

My opinion….
- It was a cute summer read but I wouldn’t read again. It didn’t keep me captivated and I didn’t feel immersed in the book.
- I adored the new founded friendship between the three main characters because it was wholehearted. With that said, it was far fetched.
- I thought that the pace was pretty slow which was surprising because it’s a short book. But if you like a slow pace, give it a shot!
- Luna’s POV was HARD to get through. Her story mainly focuses on her thoughts which includes her overthinking and insecurities. She obsesses over her ex, constantly going back and forth. Honestly, it got annoying. It felt like I was just reading about someone pitying themselves.
- It is NOT an intense read. Nothing groundbreaking really happens. You won’t need any tissues for this one. The story is straight to the point. So if you’re just looking to get your mind off something then this would be a top pick.

If you like….
- Mild Romance
- Friendship
- Drama
Then this one is for you!

[Belle₊˚⊹♡ (for keeps ∞♡) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ehhhh

Ok. Don’t get me wrong it wasn’t a bad book- but also wasn’t the greatest.

I also don’t really get the title, like yes the setting is onset on the beach but they’re not really at the beach or really get so much of that beach/summer vibes in this book 🫠

This book had soo much potential with the characters, romance, and plot but it just wasn’t written that great in my opinion.

And the little romance subplot in this story
Felt rushed and no chemistry at all,
Leading to the unnecessary spice 💀

Overall was the book good?

It was kinda cute, the characters were funny sometimes annoying but pretty surprised they weren’t teenagers despite them being a little immature half of the time lol

Rating: ⭐️⭐️
Spice: 3/5 (not descriptive, couldve survived without it.)
Humor: 2/5

[Kodie Jade · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf @ 25%

[amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes a romance doesn't make a book better

[Ella · Rating 1 out of 5]

*. * · 1/Dnf *. * ·

[Emily Beasley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actually did enjoy this, it was hard to keep track of 3 povs but really liked it in the end